Health New England (“HNE”) is committed to protecting the confidentiality and security of member information. Regrettably, this notice concerns an incident involving some of that information.
Behavioral Health Network, Inc. (“BHN”) helps manage and provide care to HNE BeHealthy members in collaboration with MassHealth-designated Behavior Health and Long-Term Services. To accomplish this function, BHN receives certain member information. On July 24, 2020, we received notice from BHN of a recent incident that may involve some information belonging to individuals who have been or are currently served by BHN.
This notice was a result of BHN’s ongoing investigation into a security incident in which an unauthorized person gained access to certain BHN systems. BHN was made aware of the incident after certain BHN systems became infected with a virus that prohibited BHN from accessing its files. Upon identifying the virus, BHN immediately commenced an investigation, which included working with third-party IT and forensic investigators, to determine the full nature and scope of the incident and to secure the BHN network. Through this investigation, on or about July 16, 2020, BHN determined that an unauthorized person had placed malware within the BHN environment that disrupted the operation of certain BHN systems. As a result, the unauthorized person may have had access to certain files within these systems between May 26, 2020 and May 28, 2020.
While the investigation was able to determine these BHN systems were accessed during the dates referenced above, it was unable to determine whether any specific file(s) containing sensitive information were actually accessed or acquired by the unauthorized person. BHN does not have any evidence that member information was actually accessed or viewed by an unauthorized individual, or that it has been misused.
Out of an abundance of caution, BHN began mailing notices to affected individuals in early August, including HNE members, whose information was present on the affected systems. BHN has also established a dedicated, toll-free call center to answer questions members may have about this incident. If you have questions, please call 844-930-2836, Monday through Friday, between 9:00 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, excluding major U.S. holidays. You may also write to BHN at 417 Liberty Street, Springfield, MA 01104. As an added precaution, BHN is offering affected members complimentary credit monitoring and identity protection services. We encourage you to enroll in these services, as we are not able to act on your behalf to enroll you. To enroll, please see the information provided in your letter.
We regret any concern or inconvenience this incident may cause and remain committed to protecting the confidentiality and security of our members’ information. To help prevent something like this from happening in the future, BHN is reviewing its existing policies and procedures, implementing additional safeguards, and reinforcing education with BHN staff regarding data privacy and security.